red moon over west virginia - 5. the bait

by jeremy witherington

part 5 of 36

for previous episode, click here

to begin at the beginning, click here

jeanie decided to wait until a bum, preferably female, came through town, and arrest them for vagrancy or whatever, and then propose to them that she, jeanie, would go easy on them if they agreed to act as bait to entrap pete pickering in his serial killing. it was not the greatest plan, but it was the best she could come up with. and she had a while to wait. meanwhile, pete pickering continued blithely riding around in his pickup, picking up hitchhikers, mostly at night but sometimes in broad daylight or on cloudy or rainy days. and there was another murder. and maria theresa refused to hear anything against pete. just a bum in a beef with another bum, she announced blandly, when jeanie showed her the pictures of the bludgeoned body found beside the highway just inside the county line. then desdemona appeared. she was walking along the road, free as a bird and happy as a hot dog, when jeanie pulled up beside her. going anywhere? she asked. just passing through. got a name? folks call me desdemona. got any i d? no, i lost it back in butte, montana. there was this guy, see - want a meal? i’ll take it. get in. desdemona got in. i got a proposition for you, jeanie said as she started the cruiser up. along with the meal? yes, along with the meal. is the meal nice and hot? it might be one or the other, i can’t guarantee both. br> next

red moon over west virginia - 4. the listener

by jeremy witherington

part 4 of 36

for previous episode, click here

to begin at the beginning, click here

pete pickering was an easygoing man. he just was. it was his nature. when he retired after working thirty-two years for the power company, he enjoyed just driving around in his pickup truck, enjoying the scenery and sometime picking up hitchhikers, whom he enjoyed talking to and listening to their stories, if they cared to share them. there had been a number of mysterious disappearances in the area, and sheriff jeanie bapworth suspected pete of being a serial killer and causing most or all of the disappearances. but she could not get any evidence on him. when jeanie unveiled her suspicions to the district attorney, maria theresa, maria was not impressed. so the only thing you have against poor pete is that he drives around in his truck? maria asked. well, the killer would have to drive around, wouldn’t he? jeanie retorted. no doubt, but i can not very well ask judge john calhoun for a warrant to search his premises on such a flimsy basis as that. with that, the subject was closed so far as maria theresa was concerned. but jeanie was more determined than ever to get the goods on pete. jeanie would have liked to go out and stand on the windy highway and wait for pete to pick her up and see what he was up to. but this did not seem like a feasible proposition as pete would surely recognize her. jeanie accepted the fact that she, jeanie, was not a master of disguise, and even if she tried it and pete seemed to not see through her, how was she to know but that he really did? it was a conundrum, all right. she would have to find some other way. next

red moon over west virginia - 3. the rain

by jeremy witherington

part 3 of 36

for previous episode, click here

to begin at the beginning, click here

bob ford liked to go for long walks in the rain. he received permission from his parole officer, mr chester a arthur, to go for a walk. rain had been predicted for the afternoon and evening of thursday, so bob asked ms emily post, his shift supervisor at the five and ten cent store, if he could leave early “on a personal matter”. ms post had been satisfied with bob’s work in the preceding weeks, so she readily gave her permission. as much as he looked forward to these excursions, bob also felt a secret trepidation whenever he embarked on one. he was afraid of coming face to face with jesse james. bob knew that jesse was dead, shot in the back by himself, bob ford, in a particularly cowardly and treacherous manner, but he still had to struggle against the feeling that he might encounter jesse at any bend in the road of life. so he forced himself to confront his fear, as he was advised to do by the numerous self help books he read on his time off. bob was one of the most despised humans who ever walked the earth, so he had plenty of time to himself, and he read a lot of books, mostly self help books. so, on thursday afternoon he set off. although he liked the rain, there were limits to how much he liked the rain, and he carried an umbrella with him, as well as a ham and cheese sandwich in case he should get hungry. the sandwich had plenty of mustard on it. he had gotten two miles out of town, the sun was beginning to set and he was feeling a bit disappointed that the rain had not begun. and then - just like that - the rain came down. did it ever! the rain came down as it had never come down before. bob could hardly see two feet ahead of him. well, he thought, i asked for it. then he heard a car coming up behind him. he wondered f he should try to flag it down and hitch a ride. after all, he had come out with the express purpose of walking in the rain. next

red moon over west virginia - 2. the dream

by jeremy witherington

part 2 of 36

for previous episode, click here

to begin at the beginning, click here

johnny , how could you do this to me? don carlos woke up. what a strange dream! who was the woman who had addressed him as johnny? and what had johnny done to the poor creature that she should be so upset with him. don carlos got up and looked out the one window of the small room. the day was still overcast. it appeared that the rain which had seemed so imminent in the morning had not materialized, as the street outside seemed quite dry. still puzzling over the strange dream - in which he, don carlos, the rightful heir to the imperial thrones of spain and portugal, had seemed to play the role of a common spiv or apache - he put his hat and coat on and exited the little room. he walked slowly down the six flights of stairs, slowly twirling the ends of his scarf in his fingers. he did not expect to see anyone on the stairs, and did not do so. in his six days in the building, he had not seen anyone on the stairs or landings, or heard anyone in any of the rooms, and had come to the conclusion that the building was deserted, except for himself and the little woman to whom he had given a week’s rent. which reminded him, his second week’s rent was due on the next day. he smiled as he wondered if he could simply move into one of the other rooms, stay out of sight of the little woman, and avoid paying the rent… a subterfuge hardly worthy of the rightful heir of the imperial thrones of spain and portugal. reaching the street, he decided to get his cup of coffee at the cafe he had given his custom three days ago, on wednesday. he did not wish to become too familiar a face at any one spot. at the same time, he did not wish to wander too far afield, as this deathly silent neighborhood quite suited his purpose. next

red moon over west virginia - 1. the next day

by jeremy witherington

part 1 of 36

to begin at the beginning, click here

so, we understand each other. molotov nodded. after a pause he said, victory will not come without sacrifice. that is quite true, lord curzon agreed. my business is finished here, molotov said. i may as well leave. without another word he got up and left. a door opened behind lord curzon and catherine stepped into the office. how perfectly excruciating, she said. it is just his way, lord curzon murmured. all these understandings, catherine grumbled. i could use a little excitement. the time for excitement will come, lord curzon assured her. there was nothing more to say. catherine looked out the window. it was a gray morning, with the threat of eternal rain. all the same, she thought, the ceremony might have been performed with a bit less pomp. or. perhaps, even more pomp. if it was going to be a show, why not a real show? next

red moon over west virginia - 0. a dark night

by jeremy witherington

part 0 of 36

it was a dark and cloudy night, down by the docks. eva peron sat alone in a room. perhaps, she thought, there is something to be said for both sides. she got up and put her hat and coat on and went outside. quietly she closed the door behind her.. she was to report to headquarters immediately. so this was how it ended. the headquarters building was dark. there were no guards outside. the front door opened easily. eva eschewed the elevator and walked up the three flights of stairs to lord halifax’s’s office. lord halifax was alone in his office. his desk was bare, except for a plain white envelope in its center. take this letter, lord halifax told eva, to the person we were speaking of earlier. eva picked up the letter. it was very light, and she suspected it might be empty. i could use a drink, she said. very well. lotd halifax’s coat hung on a rack beside the desk. he reached over and took a flask out of the pocket of the coat and handed it to eva. eva took a drink from the flask. the fiery liquid went down her throat like a thousand flaming amazon rivers. it never ends, does it, she said as she handed the flask back. so it would seem, lord halifax agreed. next

johnny and sandy #2 : a good dog

by jeremy witherington

illuatrations by danny delacroix and konrad kraus

for previous episode, click here

robbie sat in the corner like the good dog he was and watched the four humans eat. he knew enough not to approach the table unless there was a good chance one of the humans would give him a scrap. and his chances tonight did not look good because they were having hamburger helper - again! the humans thought he liked hamburger helper but he did not. the humans thought they knew a lot of things but they did not. humans were incredibly stupid. they did not know the directions of the stars, and could hardly tell one star from another. they did not suspect the true size of the universe, or the directions it was traveling in, or even that it had directions it was traveling in. their brains, and their auras, and their interactions with each other, were hopelessly clouded with the constant circular static of their pointless yapping. they could not bark, and barely understood the simplest barking by dogs, or the other perfectly clear signals of other inhabitants of the planet. they did not know which direction to walk in, to eat in, or sleep in, or do much of anything in. they quarreled endlessly about nothing, about the little puffs of static their inferior brains produced. but somehow - somehow - they were the masters - at least for a time - of creatures far superior to themselves. there was, of course, only one possible reason. and that is that they were themselves the puppets of invisible and unknown masters… these and similar thoughts drifted through robbie’s brain as he watched johnny shovel mashed potatoes and creamed spinach into his mouth … with a fork! what was the point of humans using forks? instead of just using their hands? they still washed their hands - and then they had to waste water by washing the fork too! johnny noticed robbie watching him. johnny laughed. how about it, boy, he addrssed robbie, you want some creamed spinach? dogs don’t like creamed spinach, sandy announced authoritatively. how do you know? johnny asked. i just do. typical! to be continued